New mesoporous magnesium–aluminum mixed oxide and its catalytic activity in liquid phase Baeyer–Villiger oxidation reaction

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation is a very important reaction in the organic synthesis for designing value added lactone/esters from the respective carbonyl compounds. Usually an active metal-containing material in the presence of peroxides catalyzes this reaction. Here mesoporous magnesium–aluminum mixed oxide material has been synthesized hydrothermally using lauric acid as structure-directing or capping agent. This mesoporous material is thoroughly characterized by powder XRD, N2 and CO2 adsorption, HR TEM, FE SEM-EDS, FT IR and TG-DTA techniques. The material showed moderately good surface area (244 m2 g−1) and mesoporosity with nanoscale pore dimension (ca. 4.8 nm). Liquid phase Baeyer–Villiger oxidations of cyclic and acyclic ketones have been carried out using this mesoporous material as catalyst in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as oxidant and benzonitrile as promoter.

Graphical AbstractMesoporous Mg–Al mixed oxide has been synthesized using lauric acid as template and the material showed good catalytic efficiency in the Baeyer–Villiger oxidation in the presence of dilute aqueous H2O2 and benzonitrile.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (74 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights
► Heterogeneous Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclic and acyclic ketones.
► Mesoporous Mg–Al mixed oxide.
► BV oxidation using H2O2 as oxidant and benzonitrile as promoter.
► High selectivity for lactone/esters.